Contents

Progress to Date

The Scottish Government and Scottish Futures Trust recognise
there will be gaps in 4G mobile coverage and the need to fill these
coverage gaps. As part of the Programme for Government 2016/17
[2], the Scottish Government stated its intention to develop a 4G
infill programme to work with industry and eliminate these coverage
gaps.

The 4G infill programme is looking to provide additional mast
(and associated) infrastructure and services to underserved
locations. We recognise that provision of infrastructure through
the programme is a requirement to enable mobile operators to
deliver a commercial service in the target areas.

The programme will look to ensure that any infrastructure is
open access, future-proofed, be connected to backhaul capable of
delivering 4G
LTE services and be
upgradable to 5G. It will also look to ensure that at least one
mobile service provider commits to the provision of 4G
LTE services at each
location.

We are keen to hear from those who may be able to support the
provision of this network infrastructure in the target areas. This
could be through ownership of specific telecommunications
infrastructure or have plans to build such infrastructure.

Funding has been committed by the Scottish Government to enable
the initial tranche of activity. Funding from the European Regional
Development Fund ('
ERDF') has
also been secured to support activity in the Highlands and Islands
region. The details and basis of these funding sources and any
restrictions on their usage will be explained in the forthcoming
tender documentation.